Ethan Hastert, Denny Hastert's Son, Running For Father's Congressional Seat

GENEVA, Ill. (AP) -- Former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert's son, Ethan Hastert, has announced he'll run for his father's Chicago-area seat in Congress.

The 31-year-old Hastert said Monday he would begin campaigning and fundraising for the 14th District seat. Dennis Hastert held the seat for 20 years and was the longest-serving Republican House Speaker. He announced in August 2007 that he would not seek reelection.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Batavia won the seat in the November general election.

The younger Hastert has never held elected office. The self-described economic and social conservative grew up in Yorkville and now is an attorney from Elburn.

He says he hopes to be part of the district's "next generation of leadership."

-ASSOCIATED PRESS

Comments

[stav506]

He was on the local Fox Thing In The Morning (WFLD - Chicago) today. He said the main reason he wants to get into government is because he does not believe in the current administration's borrow and spend economic policy that iwll have "him, his son and possible his son after that" in debt.

Luckily I was far away from the screen or else it would have been covered in coffee.

Um, Ethan, your DAD was the SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE when we had the largest borrow and spend administration EVER.

[Jasel]

Could we please just stop electing family members of politicians?? Pretty please??

[rchsod]

well i hope the eastern part of the 14th can get enough votes for foster because out here in the west.

ethan will win west of dekalb county..

[Shaddup]

Nooooooooo­ooooooooo!

[Colmore]

Didn't Hastert leave office one step ahead of an "investigation"?? Seems to me there were rumors, then suddenly ol' Denny decided to step down. He must miss all those free meals he got, courtesy of lobbyists. The more corrupt they are (Bush) the more inclined their kids are to want to get onto the public dole of "representing their district"

[blukazoo]

What exactly qualifies him for the position other than his father's cronyism?

[whocan]

Dan Lipinski? Todd Stroger? Richard M Daley ? any and all of the Kennedys?

[StatueOfLiberal]

He looks like Patton Oswalt in 40 years.

[Churchi11]

gee, i guess mitt romney was correct last month when he pointed out that the dems were the party of monarchy & the repubs weren't.

coz his daddy was guvner & ran for pres & opened all the doors for him, and on stage when he announced that the repubs werent monarchists was yet another bush, jeb, whose daddy silver-plattered him into the guvner's mansion & w into the white house, and here's hastert jr sucking on that teat.

what a joke.

[ronnie423]

I wonder if the CIA lied to Dennis Hastert about the torture interrogations when he was House Speaker?

[elaygee]

This is why Catholic priests were forced into celibacy in the middle dark ages. They had children who were "inheriting" their positions of authority that were suppossed to go to deserving leaders, not as a birthright to children of priests.

Maybe its time for a celibate and childless Congress.

[drjay79]

There is money to be made in politics.

[MovingtoNorway]

You've got that right. Dennis"Jabba the Hut" Hastert went to Washington as a highschool wrestling coach and came home a multimillionaire. Thos government jobs really pay well

[PuzzledinPeoria]

Gotta keep that cheese in the family.

[julian14]

Our slide into feudalism continues. We already have a de facto aristocracy of folks who get paid more in one year than the rest of us will in our entire lifetimes, no matter how hard we work. Might as well go all the way to inherited government positions.

[zest]

He'll have to run on and against his father's record. Good luck with that bagage.

[poobah]

Those gopers sure do like keeping it in the family.

[MovingtoNorway]

It's all about money

[vippy]

Please don't vote any family member! Get fresh blood for 4 years and then vote them out again.